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Roseanne Unhappy With 'The Conners': "I Ain't Dead Bitches"

The show's former star has some thoughts on their first episode

We hate to spoil it for you, but Roseanne is dead on the reworked version of her ABC show.

The Conners premiered on Tuesday night, mostly with the same cast and crew as the rebooted Roseanne that debuted in March. The missing piece though is a big one.

Roseanne was canceled in May after a tweet from Roseanne Barr derailed the show, but a month later they announced that the show would return without any creative or financial involvement from Roseanne. Fans and opposition both anxiously awaited to see how her character would be removed from the successful show, and they found their answer in the first episode.

It is revealed that her character died in bed of a heart attack after knee surgery, but additional information from a coroner's report shows that the character actually died of an opioid overdose. It's a death that's not all together surprising given that the show dabbled in the character's opioid abuse in the initial reboot, yet that doesn't mean to made things any better for Roseanne herself.

"I AIN'T DEAD, BITCHES" the comedian wrote in a tweet Tuesday night. That was the gut reaction, the more thorough commentary came later from Roseanne, via a joint statement from herself and her associate Rabbi Shmuley Boteach. Here's the message via Facebook:

“While we wish the very best for the cast and production crew of The Conners, all of whom are deeply dedicated to their craft and were Roseanne’s cherished colleagues, we regret that ABC chose to cancel Roseanne by killing off the Roseanne Conner character. That it was done through an opioid overdose lent an unnecessary grim and morbid dimension to an otherwise happy family show.

“This was a choice the network did not have to make. Roseanne was the only show on television that directly addressed the deep divisions threatening the very fabric of our society. Specifically, the show promoted the message that love and respect for one another’s personhood should transcend differences in background and ideological discord. The show brought together characters of different political persuasions and ethnic backgrounds in one, unified family, a rarity in modern American entertainment. Above all else, the show celebrated a strong, matriarchal woman in a leading role, something we need more of in our country.

“Through humor and a universally relatable main character, the show represented a weekly teaching moment for our nation. Yet it is often following an inexcusable -- but not unforgivable -- mistake that we can discover the most important lesson of all: Forgiveness. After repeated and heartfelt apologies, the network was unwilling to look past a regrettable mistake, thereby denying the twin American values of both repentance and forgiveness. In a hyper-partisan climate, people will sometimes make the mistake of speaking with words that do not truly reflect who they are. However, it is the power of forgiveness that defines our humanity.

“Our society needs to heal on many levels. What better way for healing than a shared moment, once a week, where we could have all enjoyed a compelling storyline featuring a witty character – a woman - who America connected with, not in spite of her flaws, but because of them. The cancellation of Roseanne is an opportunity squandered due in equal parts to fear, hubris, and a refusal to forgive.”

The ratings for The Conners are close to that of the finale of Roseanne, which aired days before the tweet was sent that ended the show. The Conners is so far this season's number one series debut, beating out NBC's Manifest.